Israil Madrimov Doubts Terence Crawford Could Trouble ‘Massive’ Canelo Alvarez

Israil Madrimov says he’s doubtful Terence Crawford could give Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez a competitive fight due to the “massive” size difference between the two fighters.

Crawford (41-0-0 31 KO) inflicted a first professional defeat on Madrimov (10-1-1 7 KO) on Saturday to take the Uzbek’s WBA super-welterweight title and become a four-weight world champion. In a close and competitive fight, ‘Bud’ was awarded the victory by unanimous decision, taking it 115-113 on two of the judges’ scorecards and 116-112 on the third.

By taking the former two-weight undisputed champion the distance, Madrimov ended Crawford’s run of stoppage victories, which stretched six fights across almost six years.

The obvious conclusion to draw is that Crawford, who was competing at super-welterweight for the first time, does not carry the same power he did while winning world titles in lighter divisions.

Still, that did not stop the constant post-fight questions posed to the Nebraskan regarding a potential mega-bout with unified super-middleweight champion Canelo – a prospect created mainly by Saudi boxing boss Turki Alalshikh, who said he wanted to match the sport’s two best fighters.

Crawford said he would be interested if the money was right and insisted the extra weight wouldn’t be a problem, but having shared a ring with him, Madrimov is not convinced, particularly if Alvarez refuses to drop down to a catchweight.

“I don’t know, it depends on what weight they fight in,” Madrimov said. “But if they fight in Canelo’s current weight category, then I think it will be very difficult for Crawford because he’s massive.”

Taking the chance to reflect on his own fight against Crawford in Los Angeles, Madrimov said he could be proud of his performance, and insisted ‘Bud’ was not the toughest opponent he’s faced.

“I felt good, I felt really good, I felt proud of myself like Eddie [Hearn] said,” he said. “Crawford is really good, he’s pound-for-pound best, he’s one of the best in the world – he’s not an easy fight. He knocked out the last 10 opponents he fought, Spence and others.

“I didn’t feel like it was my toughest fight, there were some questions about how I won my world championship belt in my previous fight, and I think in this fight I proved why it was easy then, why I’m a champion, and why I deserve to be a champion. I feel good, I don’t have any doubts about myself.”

“There is no doubt he has power, there is no doubt he has skills, I knew that, that’s why this fight was so close,” Madrimov added. “If I won the 11th and 12th rounds maybe I could have won the fight or got the draw, but I did what I could, I followed my plan.

“I did a lot in the beginning of the fight as well, I tried to be aggressive, I tried to take the fight to him. I obviously exerted more energy, but maybe next time, with the experience I gained, I can do better in the future.”

As for what’s next, Madrimov stated that he wants to compete for another world title as soon as possible. It’s unlikely Crawford would grant him a rematch, so he is taking aim at the rest of the division.

“I want to try to take another title, it gives me a lot of motivation as well, to try to take something from somebody, I want to take it back or win another title and see how it goes.”